Resilience in a Warming World: A Scoping Review of the Adaptive Mechanisms of East African Indigenous Goats

Abstract

Climate change and increasingly erratic weather patterns pose a severe threat to livestock production, particularly in East Africa. While exotic breeds often struggle under environmental stress, indigenous goats, specifically the Small East African (SEA) breeds, exhibit remarkable resilience. Goats exhibit a range of morphological, physiological, behavioural and genetic adaptations that enable their survival under harsh climatic conditions. However, for indigenous goats in East Africa, these specific mechanisms and genetic drivers of this adaptability remain poorly synthesized. This scoping review aims to map the existing evidence regarding the environmental resilience, adaptive traits (phenotypic and genetic), and socio-economic significance of indigenous goats in East Africa in the context of climate change. A structured search was used to query relevant articles across multiple databases following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Studies focusing on morphological, physiological, behavioral, and genetic adaptations of East African goats were included. The scoping review identified a multi-dimensional adaptive strategy in indigenous goats with studies describing both phenotypic and genetic adaptations. Phenotypic adaptations included the high surface-area-to-volume ratios for heat dissipation, superior water conservation (desiccated feces and concentrated urine), and dietary flexibility. Genetic adaptations are linked to key biomarkers that ensure innate hardiness and survival through disease resistance ( FGF 9 and MAPK 3), thermo-tolerance ( HSPA 2 and HSP 70) and metabolic signaling ( ADCY 4). Despite these findings, a significant “characterization gap” exists: while phenotypic traits are well-documented across breed categories, high-resolution genomic data specific to East African populations is sparse. Socio-economically, these goats function as a flexible, self-renewing asset for smallholder farmers, requiring low inputs while maintaining reproductive success under stress. Indigenous goats thus allow farmers to recover from economic shocks by providing a source of capital that can be quickly liquidated. Therefore, indigenous East African goats possess a genetic footprint that is critical for sustainable livestock production in a warming world. To fully leverage this potential, future research must transition from descriptive studies to functional genomics and marker-assisted selection. Integrating these resilient breeds into national climate adaptation policies is a critical step toward ensuring long-term food security.